Humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepens, Israeli attacks continue and winter sets in

CGTN Europe

CGTN Europe interviewed Hisham Mhanna, spokesperson for the ICRC in Gaza Strip.

Transcript

00:00Hesham Hanna is from International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza.

00:04Hesham, great to see you there.

00:05So can you give us an overview of the humanitarian situation in Gaza right now?

00:12Hello Thinh Hoang, thank you for having me.

00:14It's very difficult has become to describe the level of deterioration in the humanitarian situation.

00:21Every day civilians face new challenges in Gaza.

00:26They vary from the hostilities, the explosions,

00:29trying to find proper shelter amidst the shortage in the basic supplies for sheltering,

00:35food, proper health care.

00:37And now everything has compounded by the rain and the dropping temperatures.

00:42We have witnessed horrific scenes where people living in ruined tents

00:47submerged with the rainfall and sewage water,

00:51destroying whatever belonging they have and end up,

00:55and putting them in face of new challenge to move again to a safer area, which is hard to find.

01:02And the ICRC had a statement earlier saying that the repeated hostilities in and around the hospitals

01:08have obliterated the health care system in Gaza.

01:13So what's the current state of medical facilities and the immediate challenges right now?

01:19Well, the ICRC, the International Committee of the Red Cross has warned against reaching this far.

01:25After months of non-stop hostilities in and around hospitals,

01:29particularly in the northern governorate of Gaza,

01:32the situation of the health care system now is very much destroyed

01:40and even beyond being operational again.

01:44Two out of three hospitals in Gaza are now completely inoperable

01:48and the only remaining hospital in the northern governorate,

01:51allowed the hospital previously supported by the ICRC,

01:54is now barely functional and provide the basic health care services for civilians who remain in that governorate.

02:04For the past several weeks, the first responders could not reach civilians in need in the northern governorate.

02:11People had to carry the injured and the sick over their shoulders or carts dragged by donkeys

02:18to reach them or to get them to the hospitals that are barely functioning

02:22and have been so much under severe restrictions and shortage of the basic needs.

02:28Hospitals, on the other hand, in Gaza City,

02:31the very few hospitals that are also partially functioning cannot absorb any more pressure

02:36of the casualties being transferred from the northern governorate into the Gaza City.

02:41The ICRC has supported medical evacuations in the previous weeks

02:45from these hospitals in the north to hospitals that are better equipped in Gaza City

02:50upon the request in coordination with the authorities in both Gaza and Israel.

02:55We remain committed to supporting the health care system in Gaza.

02:58However, much more must and can be done immediately.

03:04And the heavy rains and cold weather must have made your work more difficult.

03:08And what are the obstacles your team are facing on the ground?

03:11And what would you like to say to the international community on the first day of 2025?

03:18The ICRC teams have been supporting civilians and actors in Gaza Strip

03:23to prevent the deterioration in the humanitarian situation.

03:29When it comes to winterization, the ICRC supported the distribution of non-food item kits,

03:36including tarpaulin, blankets, some protein bars for thousands of families.

03:43However, this has never been enough because simply civilians continue to be subject to new evacuation orders

03:52and whatever is over their heads, tents or plastic sheets, worn out because of the last summer,

04:00cannot prevent the risk of flooding.

04:03We have also supported the opening of the drainage system

04:06and prevent the risk of flooding from the water and wastewater facilities.

04:12This is never enough.

04:15The humanitarian solution can never be the only solution.

04:18Only political solutions can put an end to this catastrophic scene witnessed over 15 months in Gaza Strip.

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